Best Wi-Fi Boosters in the UK

Review & Comparison, Last Update December 10, 2018

Wireless networking and Internet access have been an absolute boon within the last decade. Being able to use the internet with a mobile device from anywhere in your home is one of the modern conveniences we enjoy. However, those of us who require a little more wireless signal strength than what most wireless routers provide could use something like a Wi-Fi booster. Read our reviews for five of the best wi-fi boosters available....Read more...Read less

The device combines all of the visible WiFi networks into one, providing you with a single SSID. Just add additional devices to the booster's network and the extender will find an optimal route to maximise the WiFi performance on its own. It doesn't reduce the speed of your extended WiFi connection thanks to the FastLane3 technology that establishes a dedicated WiFi link to the router.

CONS

The device requires quite a bit of socket space.

OUR VERDICT

The booster might very well be the best WiFi range extender when it comes to securing a connection that doesn't sacrifice speed in favour of range. The device features universal compatibility, so you can easily recommend to anyone who isn't afraid to drop a few additional pounds to get a truly excellent product.

Thanks to the fact that both bandwidths utilise the Wireless-AC technology, the power of the signal will match its range. The model incorporates an Intelligent Signal Indicator that comes with an RE button for a one-touch setup. The blue light will indicate that the connection is solid and the red one will be reserved for those occasions when it isn't.

CONS

The model doesn't fare well with voltage drops.

OUR VERDICT

The TP-LINK RE450 Universal Dual Band Wi-Fi Booster is a reliable and well-rounded model that will be a perfect fit for the kind of clientele that would choose a versatile device over a specific one any day of the week.

The Wi-Fi Analytics app will give you an overall overview of your network status. You'll be able to use it to check the strength of the signal. The app will help you measure channel interference. It is capable of identifying the locations where the signal is the weakest, so you'll have the opportunity to cover those dead spots.

CONS

The booster tends to heat up after a few hours.

OUR VERDICT

The NETGEAR EX3700 is a great choice for a large family of tech-savvy people who prefer a great variety of online content. It will help you eliminate dead spots and you'll be able to enjoy a strong signal in every corner of your house. Plus, it is compatible with all Wi-Fi standards.

With the help of the Beamforming technology, this WiFi booster will be able to focus the signal directly to any compatible device to further optimise its performance. Another interesting aspect of this piece of data networking equipment is the use of a PerfectPoint Locator that will help any future owner locate the best possible spot for maximum range and signal strength.

CONS

The settings menu is a little complicated.

OUR VERDICT

Despite being easy on the pocketbook, the device offers enough in terms of speed and convenience to satisfy your average household. If you don't wish to pay a king's ransom for a WiFi signal booster but would still like to get a dependable product, the Belkin F9K1126-UK should be right up your alley.

The miniature profile and the usual wall-mounted design make it particularly easy to deploy the extender and move it around. The convenient LED control function on the lower half of its front incorporates a night mode for peaceful sleep. This LED function also includes 5 signal lights that show the strength of the signal.

CONS

Doesn't support the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard.

OUR VERDICT

The TP-LINK TL-WA850RE may not seem like the most impressive option on paper but the WiFi booster boasts a surprisingly ace price-performance ratio. If you don't live in a large house, this thing will work wonders for you. Plus, it looks really good and is a real pleasure to work with.

NETGEAR EX7500-100UKS

The Speed and the Range

Without beating too much around the bush, the NETGEAR EX7500-100UKS is a WiFi range extender that is far removed from being one of the more affordable options on the market. For a price of about 100 pounds, you'll be able to acquire an actual router. But despite the relatively expensive price tag that the model comes with, it is surprisingly cost-efficient given what it offers in return in terms of performance and convenience.

For starters, the device in question combines all of the visible WiFi networks into one, providing you with a single SSID. All you'll have to do is add the additional devices to the Netgear WiFi booster's network and the extender will be able to find an optimal route in order to maximise the WiFi performance on its own.

Speaking of performance, the fact that this model does not reduce the speed of your extended WiFi is a welcome change compared to some of the cheaper boosters that sacrifice the speed in favour of range. The piece of data networking equipment from Netgear is able to do that thanks to the FastLane3 technology that establishes a dedicated WiFi link to the router in order to avoid reducing the extended WiFi bandwidth in half.

That's not to mention the fact that you'd presented with an opportunity to freely walk around the house without suffering through the unpleasant experience of an uninterrupted signal. That opportunity is there due to the fact that the device utilises a technology capable of seamlessly passing the WiFi connection between the router and the device itself in your own network.

In conclusion, the NETGEAR EX7500-100UKS might very well be the best WiFi range extender out there in terms of securing a connection that doesn't sacrifice speed in favour of range. Add to that the fact that this booster features universal compatibility and you could easily recommend it to just about anyone who isn't afraid to drop a few additional pounds to get a truly excellent product.

Additional Info

TP-LINK RE450

One-Touch Setup

In the world of information technologies, there are always the kinds of products that sacrifice some of its aspects in favour of others and those that instead focus on delivering the best they can do in every single category. Though, generally speaking, this sort of approach entails a relatively mediocre quality of all of these elements, the TP-LINK RE450 Universal Dual Band Wi-Fi Booster is one of those welcome exceptions that does not trail behind in just about every single area.

To get the ball rolling, this WiFi router booster offers a fairly solid connection speed, with up to 1300 Mbps on a 5GHz network and up to 450 Mbps on a 2.4GHz one. The aforementioned networks are secured with the help of three external dual-band antennas that extend the coverage of your wireless signal and its reliability, effectively removing any potential dead zones from your house or your place of business. Given that both of the bandwidths utilise the Wireless-AC technology, you'll be able to rest assured knowing that the power of the signal will be able to match its range.

Lastly, even though this TP-Link WiFi booster is essentially an orthodox all-rounder, the model does incorporate a fairly unique Intelligent Signal Indicator that comes with an RE button for a one-touch setup. The blue light will indicate that the connection is solid and the red one will be reserved for those occasions when it isn't.

All in all, the TP-LINK RE450 Universal Dual Band Wi-Fi Booster is a reliable and well-rounded model that will be a perfect fit for the kind of clientele that would choose a versatile device over a specific one any day of the week.

Additional Info

NETGEAR EX3700

Strong Signal for Everyone

The NETGEAR EX3700 is sort of a middle-of-the-road WiFi booster that should be enough to solve coverage issues in your average household. If you're familiar with NETGEAR products, it doesn't really offer anything you haven't seen before. It's just a solid extender that will help everybody in your family enjoy a strong and stable connection in every part of the house.

It will also help you prioritise the data. Using FastLane technology, you'll be able to establish one particularly high-speed connection that will allow you to enjoy online gaming and HD streaming.

The device is a dual-band booster, so prioritising in general is definitely not one of its weakest links. The 5GHz band is capable of transmitting up to 433 Mbps of data, more than enough for a few people enjoying the most traffic-demanding content. The slower 2.4GHz band caps at 300 Mbps, which is, again, more than enough for legacy devices and your everyday browsing purposes.

As it is always the case with NETGEAR, the model works with the company's very own Wi-Fi Analytics application. It will give you an overall overview of your network status. You'll be able to use it to check the strength of the signal. The app will help you measure channel interference. Finally, it is capable of identifying the locations where the signal is the weakest, so you'll have the opportunity to cover those dead spots.

In other words, the NETGEAR EX3700 is a great choice for a large family that enjoys a great variety of online content. It will help you eliminate dead spots and you'll be able to enjoy a strong signal in every corner of your house. Plus, it is compatible with all Wi-Fi standards.

Additional Info

Belkin F9K1126-UK

Perfect Point Locator

Speaking of an average household, we believe it would be fair to say that the majority of them wouldn't be willing to spend a hundred pounds on a WiFi signal booster in addition to about the same sum they had to have already spent on a wireless router. And it would seem that people at Belkin understand that since the Belkin F9K1126-UK offers just about everything your typical household needs out of a device like that at a price that wouldn't cost most of these people an arm and a leg.

Sure, the model doesn't necessarily offer the best there is in terms of speed, but up to 866 Mbps at a 5GHz network for newer gadgets and a cap of 300 Mbps at 2.4GHz for legacy devices should prove to be more than enough to serve your average family living in your typical house. And, with the help of the Beamforming technology, this WiFi booster will be able to focus the signal directly to any compatible device to further optimise its performance.

Another interesting aspect of this piece of data networking equipment is the use of a PerfectPoint Locator that will help any future owner locate the best possible spot for maximum range and signal strength. And, setting the technical stuff aside, we would be remiss not to mention that the device in question will be able to plug into just about any electrical outlet out there without obstructing other sockets thanks to its compact and space-efficient design.

Considering all of the above, what we're left with is a device that, despite being easy on the pocketbook, offers enough in terms of speed and convenience to satisfy your average household. If you don't wish to pay a king's ransom for a Wi-Fi signal booster but would still like to get a dependable product, the Belkin F9K1126-UK should be right up your alley.

Additional Info

TP-LINK TL-WA850RE

Pleasure to Work With

As of right now, the TP-LINK TL-WA850RE is the most affordable Wi-Fi booster on our list. And, honestly, for its price, it is a pretty good product. Of course, you don't put this thing in an office and expect it to do anything. While the model does come equipped with a couple of internal antennas, you won't be able to find much use for its range considering the limited connection speed.

This single-band extender will be able to give you up to 300 Mbps to work with. It's plenty for your average family but that's about it. Of course, you can't really hold it against the model as it was clearly designed for small houses.

That said, there is one thing that we can hold against this booster and that is the fact that it doesn't support the 802.11ac wireless protocol. But the best thing about this standard is the MU-MIMO and, again, this isn't some sort of a large office model, so you would not have been able to put it to good use anyway.

One thing that we really like about this WiFi booster is its appearance. The miniature profile and the usual wall-mounted design make it particularly easy to deploy the extender and move it around.

The convenient LED control function on the lower half of its front incorporates a night mode for peaceful sleep. This LED function also includes 5 signal lights that show the strength of the signal. Finally, since this is a TP-LINK device, you'll always be able to rely on the Tether app to easily set up access and management via your smartphone.

In short, the TP-LINK TL-WA850RE may not seem like the most impressive option on paper but the Wi-Fi booster boasts a surprisingly ace price-performance ratio. If you don't live in a large house, this thing will work wonders for you. Plus, it looks really good and is a real pleasure to work with.

Additional Info

What Is a Wi-Fi Booster?

A Wi-Fi booster, sometimes also called a Wi-Fi range extender or a wireless repeater, is a device that is used to help extend the signal range of an existing wireless access point. All wireless routers have a specific range that their own signal is able to reach, but often, in areas such as large homes or offices, the coverage area of the wi-fi signal isn’t able to sufficiently cover the entire area. In such a situation, a wi-fi booster acts as an extender of the wi-fi coverage area, providing a strong, clean signal to an area that can’t be sufficiently reached by the wireless access point.

Wi-Fi boosters work by connecting to your existing wireless network, usually through a wired connection with an RJ-45 Ethernet cable or a USB cable, but they can also connect wirelessly. Once it is connected, it basically rebroadcasts the wireless signal from your router. These devices should be placed somewhere between the wireless router and the area that needs the boosted wi-fi signal. In very large areas, more than one wi-fi booster may be needed, especially if the signal needs to be boosted to areas on opposite sides of the router. In a large house or building that is two or more stories, the wi-fi booster may need to be placed on a story above or below the wireless router. If you are needing a new wireless router along with a wi-fi booster, then take a look at our reviews for the 5 Best Wireless Routers for Home and Office Use.